Our noses have changed: The Le Labo City Exclusive edit 2026
From Beijing’s Shiu 25 to our five new favorites, here’s what we’re smelling differently this year
Every September, Le Labo’s City Exclusives do something rather clever: they leave their respective hometowns and make themselves available around the world for one month only. From September 1 to September 30, 2026, fragrance devotees in the Philippines can once again get their hands on the collection—no plane ticket required.
We covered the City Exclusives last year, when Osmanthus 19 led the collection and our picks leaned toward scents that felt familiar in a very Le Labo way: Mousse de Chêne 30, Aldehyde 44, Baie Rose 26, Gaiac 10, and Vanille 44 made our 2025 edit. At the time, we were drawn to clean musks, rose, mossy woods, aldehydes and, naturally, that very chic Le Labo interpretation of vanilla.
Fast-forward to 2026, and apparently our noses have been doing some growing up.
This year’s edit feels darker, warmer and a little less predictable. Perhaps we’ve developed a newfound respect for notes that don’t immediately scream “easy crowd-pleaser.” Instead of gravitating only toward the familiar florals, musks and fresh notes, we found ourselves reaching for richer materials, resins, leather and more complex interpretations of vanilla.
Leading this year’s City Exclusive collection is Shiu 25, the newest addition and Le Labo’s tribute to Beijing. Inspired by the city’s quieter spaces and traditional artisanship, it is built around shiu, the Ho tree’s more subdued expression, with iris and olibanum floating over warm woods. The result is meditative rather than showy—woody, resinous and quietly enveloping.
And then there are the five we kept coming back to.
Vanille 44 — Paris
Vanille 44 was one of our picks in 2025, and clearly, we haven’t moved on. But there’s a reason it survived another round. This is vanilla for people who don’t necessarily want their perfume to smell like vanilla. Its ambery, woody and incense-like character gives the familiar note a more polished, smoky personality. Think less dessert, more cashmere after dark.
Tubereuse 40 — New York
A white floral makes the cut, but not in the way you might expect. Tubereuse 40 opens with bergamot, tangerine and orange flower before settling into its namesake tuberose, surrounded by cedar, sandalwood, oak moss, musks and ambrette. It has that unusual Le Labo trick of feeling fresh at first, then increasingly creamy and woody as it wears.
Cuir 28 — Dubai
Here’s where our 2026 mood gets a little more serious. Cuir 28 is dark, leathery and woody, with musks and a spicy vanilla absolute giving it an addictive ambery finish. It has the attitude of a leather jacket without going full motorcycle garage—which, frankly, is probably why we like it.
Myrrhe 55 — Shanghai
Myrrh has never exactly been the obvious choice for someone looking for an easy everyday fragrance, and maybe that’s precisely the point. Myrrhe 55 places myrrh at the center, with its incense-like, slightly licorice quality joined by jasmine and patchouli, then grounded by oud, ambergris and musk. The result is dark, electric and surprisingly elegant.
Benjoin 19 — Moscow
Benjoin 19 rounds out our five with another resinous composition, built around benjoin alongside olibanum, amber, cedar and musks. It is sensual, warm and persistent, with enough depth to feel distinctly different from the cleaner, more immediately approachable scents we gravitated toward last year.
Looking back at our 2025 edit, the shift is pretty telling. Last year, we were still very much into the clean, polished and easy-to-love side of the collection, this year, we seem to want a little more friction. More woods. More resins. More leather. More incense. More fragrances that reveal themselves slowly instead of announcing everything in the first spray. Maybe that’s what happens when you spend enough time with perfume: the obvious notes become less interesting, and the ones you once overlooked suddenly start making a lot more sense.
For those who would rather sample before committing to a full bottle, a City Exclusives Discovery Set will also be available. It features a selection of the collection’s best-selling fragrances, including Shiu, rather than every City Exclusive—so think of it as a curated introduction rather than the entire city-hopping lineup.
For one month, at least, the entire City Exclusive universe is ours to explore. And judging by this year’s picks, we’re ready to get a little less predictable with it.
Price list:
100ml EDP – P31,500
50ml EDP – P22,500
15ml – P10,150
In the Philippines, Le Labo is located at Greenbelt 5 in Makati City and SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
